No longer a monopoly if there are alternative app stores.
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EU Probes Apple's Decision to Shut Down Epic's Developer Account
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I agree. But that is different from per-app or per-installation fees, and also doesn’t touch the question of whether Apple may forbid use of their SDKs. Furthermore, developers could in principle develop iOS apps without using Apple’s SDKs.
All I can do is facepalm at how Apple is shooting themselves in the foot. If they acted like a good gatekeeper in spirit of the DMA, they could have kept all the security provisions they have put in place (which are good IMO). But this action show that they cannot be trusted to be fair and non-discriminatory (which is required by the DMA) and they indeed risk that the EC will require that they allow third-party app stores without any agreement with Apple.
Apple is also being truly hypocritical about the DMA in general. They write passive-aggressive messaging every opportunity they get to talk about the DMA. But you rarely hear them, let alone write in the way they do, about all the modifications they make to accommodate the PRC.
At this point, Apple should try to smooth things out with the EU (out of responsibility towards their users) rather than continuously antagonize the EU. It is a battle they cannot win (they are not lawmakers). In that way they could keep more protections up that (probably) most iPhone users want.
That's not 100% accurate. The Mac is able to run non-notarised applications
Why. The court stated they were allowed to. If the EU wants to go against court rulings with their own BS rules. Businesses will pull out. Epic have breach TOS which is effectively a contract.
Ultimately, this is a battle of two multi-billion-£££ companies fighting over how they divi up OUR money.
They are both pretty vile.
Apple sales in Europe are now bigger than China - it's interesting who they choose to pick a fight with
They are both pretty vile.
Apple sales in Europe are now bigger than China - it's interesting who they choose to pick a fight with
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That was a US court, which has no bearing in the EU.
I really do not understand why Apple should earn money for each and every subscription on a monthly basis. Or put it differently: why I as an iPhone owner should pay part of my Netflix subscription fee to Apple? Because I can use iPhone to watch movies? I can understand taking 1-2% as a transaction fee related to each payment if done through App Store. That is fair. But 15-30% cut? I thought that large availability of apps (especially from those "biggest partners") is beneficial to Apple as no one would buy iPhones/iPads is there were no such apps there in the first place... If only Apple could figure out how to force Amazon or eBay to pay 15-30% cut for all the things they sell in via their iOS apps...
Apple didn’t pick this fight. I don’t think this is a case of mediation because the EU are flexing. Maybe in the future.
Maybe Epic could have come to the table instead of whining like babies because they can’t get their fantasy world, baby game on the market on their own terms.. OMG. I just had a flash back many years ago when my 2 year old was stamping their feet crying and whining for 10 minutes. Thanks Epic!
There are more important things going on in Europe than writing code to scam people out of "V-Bucks".
The EU’s uphill battle against Big Tech power
The bloc finds itself outmatched against corporate resources when it comes to enforcing the Digital Markets Act.
www.politico.eu
Just to avoid having the Apple is/is not a monopoly discussion again. Under the DMA you do not have to be a monopoly to be considered a gatekeeper. So, the monopoly discussion is irrelevant. There are cumulative criteria:
- Annual turnover in the EEA of 7.5B or more.
- 45M active monthly users in the EU and more than 10,000 yearly active business users.
- Entrenched and durable position: previous criterion for each of the last three financial years.
Epic is free to create apps for iOS. But they can do so without accessing Apple's technologies. They can do whatever they want with HTML5, an open technology that is not developed and owned by Apple.
E
This is about app stores - not sure how coding in HTML has any relevance?
Just a reminder that Epic is multi billion dollar company. None of this is about improving your consumer experience.
All of this is about moving profit margins from one company to another.
I wish more people would get this. It is about entrenchment of a country's people and businesses.
Apple did something similar with the USB connector of the iPhone
With Apple’s iPhone 15, the EU wins the charger war
The new iPhone will reportedly feature a charging port soon to be required in the bloc.
www.politico.eu
Shutting down developer account is effectively just shutting down access to technologies. Because now Epic can't even distribute outside the App Store without provisioning profiles.
That’s bad? Why should Apple be forced to work with a company it doesn’t want to do business with for only the other companies gain?
problem with EU is thats its a saturated market
yes, they sell a lot there, but there are simply no new consumers coming in. just new sales to existing ones. china on the other hand has massive growth potential.
which is why apple bends heavily in china.
Because if they want to operate in the EU, they legally have to! That is their responsibility having the privileged position as a gatekeeper.
That was rhetorical. Sorry. Ignoring that…. The rest of my question was more of a statement as well.
Yes, they basically are. Smartphones are a duopoly with huge barriers to entry.
Same as ISPs
They applied the same principles to subscription as they did for one time payment. Personally I think 15-30% is fine for one time payment app. It's ridiculous for monthly subscriptions/micro payments. Even if they have applied 1% in past for these big players, they could have made billions by now. They made nothing as they all opted out, and now they will pay 2 billions in fines. I'm failing to see even Apple's business side here.
Do they? I’m guessing Apple would know more about this than us.